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Molina helps Cardinals to 5-4 win over Pirates, Saturday

August 18th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Yadier Molina had three hits and two RBIs in his return to the lineup, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a big 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. St. Louis bounced back from Friday night’s 2-1 loss in the series opener and pulled within a game of Pittsburgh for the second NL wild-card spot. Jaime Garcia is expected to come off the disabled list to start Sunday’s series finale against Pirates right-hander Jeff Karstens.

Molina also had two RBIs and scored a run after missing the previous three games with a sore back. He hit a tiebreaking two-run double off Erik Bedard (7-13) in the fifth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. Jordy Mercer had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates, who struck out 14 times.